SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Just looking over some photo mags today and couldn't help notice that a preponderance of the better ones are published in England. Are the English that crazy about photography or do they just like to read photo mags more than anyone else?

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Hi SonyA580, other US members have commented on this, here in the UK we do have a very good range of magazines on many subjects, cycling, computing, railways and photography and lots more.
I personally rarely buy one as they are quite expensive, although when in my local supermarket I do browse through them. The last one I bought a couple of years ago had a DVD with an excellent tutorial on HDR.
Cheers
John

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Looking at the populus, English Speaking, the EURO magazines are aimed at educated people where as we in the USA are not well educated and thus prefer simplistic uncomplicated answers. Often in UHH a difinitive answer with references is ignored and the "native savage" is the preferred. Check out the USA ranking in education:
http://www.businessinsider.com/pisa-rankings-2013-12

The Britt based on population must aim at a broad educated audience because their readership is world wide. USA magazines aim primarily at USA population (no ref for that, speculation).

The one magazine that I spend money for rather than reading with my Scone and Earl Gray Lite at B&S is c't Digital Photography. (Quarterly) Usually their articles are very technical. Example, Color Space, as I recall was 24 pages long, a small text book!!

Now that I have said the above, let me say that there are some very good USA magazines. Some are expensive, such as PS specialty magazines and other published one subject magazines.

Do not forget to look at ART magazines for ideas of color and composition.... photography is no longer just photography, it is an art form.

The above is my opinion this morning... surly many will disagree, perhaps even me this evening.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Hello Dpullum, your opening statement is very interesting to read and that chart is very revealing!
Thanks,
John.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Sad commentary on the educational system in the US. My son, his wife and the other son's wife are all in education in one area or another. They spend a lot less time teaching these days and more time filling out paperwork, worrying about offending someone and dealing with emotionally unstable kids. They all blame the parents.

Festus Loc: North Dakota

Used to be a teacher (biology) back in the early 70's. This is only one persons opinion, but, the education system in the U.S. is just another failed liberal program.

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

As a Brit living in the US, I notice a difference in all magazines, not just photo. I have 2 big issues with US magazines:

1. They don't seem to care about page layout. I get sick and tired of "continued on page n" at the bottom of the pages - especially since a lot of them don't number the pages in the back-end of the mag, which are mostly full of ads. I don't remember ever seeing this process in British mags. I even worked for a publisher at one point, doing their computer stuff. This was before desktop publishing, and I would watch the editorial people spend *hours* literally 'cutting and pasting', and laying out pages on the floor, moving sections around until everything fit together nicely.

2. What is with the dates on the magazines??? They are dated months in advance... I have found special offers for stuff advertised which expire 2 months before the cover date on the magazine that they are in! I have asked publishers, and I invariably get some waffle about lead times and publishing delays. To me, the answer seems so simple. If you are working in, say, January, on a mag to hit the street in May, then just call it the May issue! I have never noticed this effect in British magazines. This is Jan 11, and I already have my February issue of Astronomy, but my Christmas issue of BBC Focus.

I have to state, however, that I don't get many Brit mags any more because of the cost. It can cost more than twice as much to subscribe to a Brit mag over here as it does for the US equivalent. As an example, the BBC published a magazine specifically for the US, called, unsurprisingly, "BBC America". I think I was the only subscriber... After a few months, it folded, and my subscription was transferred to their Brit-based magazine, "Focus". It's a great mag (science & technology, mainly), but a subscription costs about $120 per year. For the Brits, that comes out at around 80 pounds! I was letting it lapse, reluctantly. However, I did get a nice letter from them asking me to do some consumer research questionnairs. The quid-pro-quo was a 2-year subscription for $75 (50 quid, more or less). At that price, a steal!
[/rant]

Pentony Loc: Earth Traveller

The educational system isn't totally at fault. The bigger fault and responsibility lies with ineffective parenting. Parents are to discipline so that teachers can teach.

How can a teacher instill discipline and a desire to learn in 25 or so unruly students and still educate?

This is why I no longer teach. I only tutor for pay. When parents pay they make, make their students responsible.

When society lets parents off the hook from being responsible for instilling discipline and a desire to learn in their children, and child services over due worry about child "abuse," they start the downward slide, downfall of society.

When parents are lazy and don't do the "WORK" of parenting, it increases work for child services and psychologist, increases taxes, increases the prison population, increase low income workers (is that a part of the plan?); not only does society lose, the children also lose.

The most important job in society is raising, parenting the next generation. Yet anyone is allow to "breed" without any training. Go figure.

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Yeah, the surly ones will always disagree...

Sadly, I do agree with the meat of your post.

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

I agree. I have many friends who are teachers, and several have retired in the past few years, just because of frustration with the administrators, and the whole "teaching to standardized test" approach to education.

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

Digital SLR and Digital SLR Photography U.K publications
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

I drive a school bus, and we are required to maintain discipline in 40 or 50 unruly students, while facing the other way *and* driving a large heavy vehicle through rush-hour traffic. Our only 'weapon' is to write-up the students, but the schools rarely follow the specified rules on dealing with the situation. The kids ignore the rules, the parents swear blind that *their* little darlings would never do anything like *that*... Over the past few years, it has become obvious that the only people in the school district who are required to follow the rules, are the bus drivers!

I also feel very strongly, that this "let them do what they want" technique is not doing the students any favours at all. When they get out in the real world, and no longer have the school district rules protecting them from the results of their actions, they will not be able to cope. If some of these kids talk to a foreman or supervisor the way they talk to us, they will be picking themselves up off the ground, and then going to get their cards!

Festus Loc: North Dakota

I couldn't agree with you more. However, it is the liberal attitude that "everyone is equal, you can do no wrong, there should be no failures, no one should bear the blame" that leads to the apathetic attitudes of both parents and students . The educational system under the control of liberals has created a learning environment of mediocrity.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Second time you are inner compelled to blame " liberal" indicating that you think that the attitude of people is like a light bulb that is on or off, liberal or conservative and that conservative is the correct way. If you have done B&W photography you know that one photo can contain many shades of gray, such are the convictions of people vary with the issues unless they are required by the party to wear brown shirts or vote against any thing "democratic."

You mentioned teaching biology, and is it not the conservatives that believe in creationism, against evolutionary changes age of the world? Or is that the "liberals." Try not to pigeon-hole people. The subject here is magazines and associated issues, education being one.... the object of this discussion is not placing blame with a holier than thy attitude.

SX2002 Loc: Adelaide, South Australia

I've bought a couple of good UK mags but prefer our own Australian ones, we have a few really great publications and being on the other side of the world, the types of photography, other than the basics, are quite often different...